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City woman strangled Autopsy on 44-year-old mother rules death was homicide BY JONATHAN SHUGARTS REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — Detectives are investigating the slaying of a mother who was found strangled inside her Tudor Street home on Tuesday morning.

The death of Kacy L. Austin, 44, was initially treated as "untimely," but an autopsy revealed Thursday that she died from asphyxiation through compression of her neck. The medical examiner's office classified her death as a homicide.

Police have been investigating since Austin was found by her 17-year-old son at about 11 a.m. Tuesday in an upstairs bedroom of her home at 448 Tudor St.

The home, a well-kept, wheat-colored building that houses another apartment in the lower floor, is at the end of a dead-end street that abuts Fulton Park.

Investigators didn't find signs that anyone forced their way into the home, according to Acting Deputy Police Chief Christopher Corbett.

As of Thursday evening, there were no suspects in custody, but police don't believe the public is in danger, he said.

Corbett declined to say if a weapon, such as a rope or a cord, was seized during the investigation, nor would he say if police found signs of a struggle inside the home.

Neighbors say they knew little about Austin other than seeing her occasionally.

Many said the street, which is off of Hill Street, is quiet due to its dead end. The news of her death came as a shock, they said.

Neighborhood residents said Tuesday they didn't hear shouting, fighting or other strange sounds coming from the home Tuesday.

Austin worked for Connecticut Renaissance as a director for community release programs at its location on Central Avenue in Waterbury, according to the company's website.

Staff at the facility help with inmates referred to them from the Department of Correction. The non-profit also touts a work-release program at the location that aids prisoners in transitioning into the community.

A woman at the program declined to comment and referred a reporter to the non-profit's CEO, Racheal Petitti, who did not return a call Thursday evening.

Anyone with information about Austin's death can call the Crime Stoppers confidential tip line at 203-755-1234. Cash rewards are offered for information that leads to an arrest.

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Amy wrote on Jan 24, 2014 8:08 AM:

" She was a beautiful person. Always kind, and friendly. This is so sad. My prayers are with her family. She will be missed! "

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